Unit 7. Advice

LISTENING WARM-UPWhat problems do teenagers face? As a class, try to think of as many as you can. problems with homework ____________________________________________________________________________________________

You are going to listen to some young people talking about their
problems. Look at the gaps in the sentences and try to predict what the
missing words or phrases could be.1 Speaker 1 says that he feels _____________________.2 Speaker 2 says her _____________________ won't let her be herself.3 Speaker 3 says he's worried about his _____________________.4 Speaker 4 says she can't trust her _____________________.

TapescriptSpeaker 2I don't know how to explain it, really. It's just that I feel a lot of pressure from my friends to be like them. They don't seem to like it if I'm a bit different. I like to spend time doing things by myself, like reading books or listening to music and I refuse to give in to peer pressure. I'm not really very interested in sport or going to cafes. It can get a bit lonely, but I do have one or two close friends, like Mina. She's great, but she goes to a different school so I don't see her as often as I would like to. And there's Jodie. She's in my class at school, but I'm really not sure whether I can trust her or not. I've seen her talking about me to some of the other girls. I think she's my friend, but you never know.I spoke to my teacher about being a bit lonely and her advice was to get involved in producing the school magazine. Sounds like a good idea. I think I'll give it a try.

You are going to listen to an extract from a radio programme. Before
you listen, try to predict what words or short phrases might complete
the gaps.Name of programme: (1) ______________________Teenagers in the studio:Anthony (Edinburgh), Max ((2) ______________________), Jessica (Ipswich)First letter:Written
by John, from Wales. He saw his friend stealing from (3)
______________________ and thinks that perhaps he should (4)
______________________.Advice from studio:Speak to Sarah because maybe she had (5) ______________________ to do what she did.Second letter:Writen by Paul, from London. He wants some advice on buying (6) ______________________.Advice from studio:Don't worry too much. Look round some (7) ______________________ and be honest about yourself.Third letter:Writtеn by Аdriana, fromTorguay. She doesn't feel she can trust her best friend with her (8) ______________________.Advice from studio:Make sure it's not just a (9) ______________________. Tell her how(10) ______________________.

TapescriptPresenter Hello there and welcome to another edition of Teenage Troubles, the programme where teenagers just like you deal with your problems and try to come up with some solutions. This week, we've got three teenagers here in the studio with me and they're going to be giving their advice about some of your problems. We've got Anthony, from Edinburgh ...Anthony Hello.Presenter ... Max, from London ...Max Hello.Presenter ... and Jessica, from Ipswich.Jessica Hello.Presenter Hello to all of you. Now, you've all got our first letter in front of you. This is from John, a listener in Wales, and he says, 'My best friend is a girl, Sarah, and the other day I saw her taking something from another girl's bag. I didn't say anything, and she didn't see me. I've got no idea what to do. I feel very unhappy and I wonder if I should tell someone, like a teacher. How will Sarah feel if I do that? Do you think I should just forget it?' So, what do our teenagers in the studio think John should do? Anthony?Anthony Well, my advice is to speak to Sarah and let her know what you saw. Perhaps there's an innocent explanation. Maybe she had permission to go into the other girl's bag. Try not to jump to conclusions and remember you might be wrong. Just ask her about it.Presenter Thanks, Anthony. Do you agree, Jessica?Jessica Yes, I'm sure Anthony's right. Even if she did steal something, it might be because she has a problem. You should see if she needs your help.Presenter Let's move on to our next letter. It's from Paul in London and he writes: 'It's not a huge problem, but I am a little concerned about my appearance. You know, everyone wants to look good and sometimes I just wonder if I'm fashionable enough. I'm not sure what clothes to buy.' Jessica? Should boys worry about how they look?Jessica Well, it's important to look your best. You should have clean hair and teeth and make sure your clothes are clean, but I don't think anyone should worry too much about the way they look. Have a look round some fashionable shops, Paul, to see what you like, but remember that fashions change all the time. It's more important to be honest about who you are.Presenter Okay. Our final letter today is from Adriana, who lives in Torquay in Devon. Adriana writes: 'My problem is with my best friend. It's awful. I know that she told someone one of my secrets and I wonder how many other things she's told people. Can you imagine not being able to trust your best friend? I can't tell her anything confidential. I don't know who to turn to for advice.' Well, quite a serious problem, isn't it, Max?Max Yes, it is. It's very important to all of us that we have someone in our lives who we can trust. My advice would be to think very carefully about it. Are you sure she told someone one of your secrets? Is it possible that it could be a misunderstanding? Make sure of that before you do anything. Then, what about telling her how you feel? Maybe she did it because she thinks you don't care any more.Presenter Well, that's all we've got time for today. Thanks to my guests in the studio, and I hope we've been some help. I'll be back with Teenage Troubles and three more studio guests tomorrow. So, it's goodbye from the studio ...Teenagers Goodbye!Presenter ... and it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

As a class, discuss these questions. Give reasons for your opinions.Would you like to listen to a radio programme like this one?What do you think of the advice they gave the listeners?Can teenagers give each other good advice?